Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology: Identifying novel therapeutic agents using xenograft models of pediatric cancer

May 18, 2016

Raushan T. Kurmasheva & Peter J. Houghton Abstract In the USA, the overall cure rate for all childhood cancers is seventy percent, and in many patients that ultimately fail curative therapy, initial responses to current multimodality treatments (surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy) are good, with overall 5-year event-free survival approaching 80 %. However, current approaches to curative […]

Molecular Cancer Therapy: The Bromodomain BET Inhibitor JQ1 Suppresses Tumor Angiogenesis in Models of Childhood Sarcoma

May 15, 2016

Hemant K Bid 1, Doris A Phelps 1, Linlin Xaio 1, Denis C Guttridge 2, Jiayuh Lin 1, Cheryl London 3, Laurence H Baker 4, Xiaokui Mo 5, Peter J Houghton 6 Abstract The bromodomain and extra-terminal domain inhibitor JQ1 has marked antitumor activity against several hematologic malignancies as well as solid tumor models. Here, we investigated its activity in vitro and in vivo against models of childhood rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma. […]

Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) – Molecular Basis of Disease: Vascular mTOR-dependent mechanisms linking the control of aging to Alzheimer’s disease

May 1, 2016

Abstract Aging is the strongest known risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). With the discovery of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) as a critical pathway controlling the rate of aging in mice, molecules at the interface between the regulation of aging and the mechanisms of specific age-associated diseases can be identified. We will review […]

Clinical Cancer Research: Recurrent Mutations of Chromatin-Remodeling Genes and Kinase Receptors in Pheochromocytomas and Paragangliomas

May 1, 2016

Rodrigo A. Toledo, Yuejuan Qin, Zi-Ming Cheng, Qing Gao, Shintaro Iwata, Gustavo M. Silva, Manju L. Prasad, I. Tolgay Ocal, Sarika Rao, Neil Aronin, Marta Barontini, Jan Bruder, Robert L. Reddick, Yidong Chen, Ricardo C.T. Aguiar and Patricia L.M. Dahia Abstract Purpose: Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGL) are genetically heterogeneous tumors of neural crest origin, but the molecular basis of most PPGLs is unknown. Experimental Design: We performed exome or transcriptome sequencing of 43 samples from 41 patients. A validation set of 136 PPGLs was used for amplicon-specific resequencing. In […]

PLOS One: Combined Gene Expression and RNAi Screening to Identify Alkylation Damage Survival Pathways from Fly to Human

April 21, 2016

Alfeu Zanotto-Filho, Ravi Dashnamoorthy, Eva Loranc, Luis H. T. de Souza, José C. F. Moreira, Uthra Suresh, Yidong Chen, Alexander J. R. Bishop Abstract Alkylating agents are a key component of cancer chemotherapy. Several cellular mechanisms are known to be important for its survival, particularly DNA repair and xenobiotic detoxification, yet genomic screens indicate that […]

PLOS One: Combined Gene Expression and RNAi Screening to Identify Alkylation Damage Survival Pathways from Fly to Human

April 21, 2016

Alfeu Zanotto-Filho, Ravi Dashnamoorthy, Eva Loranc, Luis H. T. de Souza, José C. F. Moreira, Uthra Suresh, Yidong Chen, Alexander J. R. Bishop  Abstract Alkylating agents are a key component of cancer chemotherapy. Several cellular mechanisms are known to be important for its survival, particularly DNA repair and xenobiotic detoxification, yet genomic screens indicate that […]

JCI Insight: Synergism of FAK and tyrosine kinase inhibition in Ph+ B-ALL

April 17, 2016

Michelle L. Churchman,1 Kathryn Evans,2 Jennifer Richmond,2 Alissa Robbins,2 Luke Jones,2 Irina M. Shapiro,3 Jonathan A. Pachter,3 David T. Weaver,3 Peter J. Houghton,4 Malcolm A. Smith,5 Richard B. Lock,2 and Charles G. Mullighan1 Abstract BCR-ABL1+ B progenitor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ B-ALL) is an aggressive disease that frequently responds poorly to currently available therapies. Alterations in IKZF1, which encodes the lymphoid transcription factor Ikaros, are present in over 80% of […]

Genes & Cancer: FGF19 functions as autocrine growth factor for hepatoblastoma

April 6, 2016

David J. Elzi1, Meihua Song1, Barron Blackman1, Susan T. Weintraub2, Dolores López-Terrada5, Yidong Chen1,3, Gail E. Tomlinson1,4 and Yuzuru Shiio1,2 ABSTRACT Hepatoblastoma is the most common liver cancer in children, accounting for over 65% of all childhood liver malignancies. Hepatoblastoma is distinct from adult liver cancer in that it is not associated with hepatitis virus infection, […]

RNA Biology: High-throughput analyses of hnRNP H1 dissects its multi-functional aspect

April 2, 2016

Authors Philip J Uren, Emad Bahrami-Samani, Patricia Rosa de Araujo, Christine Vogel, Mei Qiao, Suzanne C Burns, Andrew D Smith, Luiz OF Penalva hnRNPs are polyvalent RNA binding proteins that have been implicated in a range of regulatory roles including splicing, mRNA decay, translation, and miRNA metabolism. A variety of genome-wide studies have taken advantage […]

Journal of Community Support Oncology: Reaching high-risk underserved individuals for cancer genetic counseling by video-teleconferencing

April 1, 2016

Lindsey A Mette 1 2, Anna Maria Pulido Saldívar 2 3, Natalie E Poullard 1 2, Ivette C Torres 2 4, Sarah G Seth 1 2, Brad H Pollock 5 6, Gail E Tomlinson 7 2 6 Abstract Background: Breast and colorectal cancers are common cancers for which genetic risk assessment and counseling are available. However, these services are often limited to metropolitan areas and are not readily accessible to underserved populations. Moreover, ethnic and racial disparities […]